The fair exists in literature, created by John Bunyin in The Pilgrim’s Progress (Part I, 1678; Part II, 1684).
Established in the town of Vanity by Beelzebub, Apollyon, and Legion, it lasts all year and sells all manner of earthly treasures and enjoyments.
One reason spilling salt is considered bad luck is because salt was once valuable and difficult to obtain. According to an old Norwegian superstition, a person is doomed to shed as many tears as it takes to dissolve the spilled salt. Another reason is the belief that spilled salt refers to the devil. In the…
Nereids were 50 nymphs of the sea, daughters of the sea-god Nereus, often came to the aid of sailors in trouble.
Ragnarok is the day of doom in Norse mythology and corresponds to Gotterdammerung, the Teutonic Twilight of the Gods. On Ragnarok, a battle between good and evil results in the world’s being consumed by fire. Later, a new world, new humans, and new gods spring up around the core of a few survivors.
The ancient Scandinavians appear to be responsible for the legend of newborn babies being delivered by the stork. The myth grew out of observations of storks, their nesting in chimneys, their monogamy, and their gentle behavior toward their kin. The myth did not gain worldwide acceptance until the nineteenth century, when Danish writer Hans Christian…
The legendary Christian ruler Prester John was believed to have reigned in Asia beyond Persia and Armenia, under the humble title Presbyter or Prester, that is, priest. European Christians hoped Prester John would help them drive the Muslims out of the Holy Land. Explorers like Marco Polo went looking for him; at least one forged…
Yin is female, dark, negative, earthly. Yang is male, bright, positive, heavenly. In Chinese mythology, both are ethers born in the division of the original cell of chaos, Ch’i.